On Thursday of last week, my wife and three kids (ages 4, 6, and 9) and I camped in a lovely spot along Flat Laurel Creek in the Pisgah National Forest. We pitched our tents, cooked supper and after getting all the dishes “camp clean,” packed out dishes and 3 days worth of food in our brand new Ursak 2XL. After hiking through the Shining Rock Wilderness a couple weeks ago with a bear canister, I was excited to try out a bag big enough to hold all the stuff for a multi-day family trip. Because the bag was so big, I also decided to pack in all our utilities and pots and anything that might have a strong scent to it. And given that the area we were in was only a couple miles from the trailhead on NC Hwy 215, I was more worried about the smaller critters than black bears, so after tying it with the “double slipknot” method advocated on the Ursack website, I hung it from a strong sturdy branch—about 6 feet off the ground and four feet from the trunk.
Within one hour of hanging the bag at 6 p.m., it was gone. My wife returned from a privy trip and said, “the bear bag is gone, and I didn’t stick around to find out what took it.” So I walked the 50 paces to where it had been, and indeed it was gone. At first, we both thought that a critter or bear had gotten to it. But the odd thing is that there was “no sign of a struggle,” as the detectives say. While the knot that I used to close the bag was bomb-proof and secured by a carabiner in case a bear tugged at it, the slippery half hitch with which I had attached the bag to the limb-rope was completely unfazed. It certainly looked to my eyes like someone or something just came along and unclipped that carabiner and walked off with it. Given all the stuff that was in the bag, it seems unlikely that a raccoon or other varmint would be able to drag such a heavy thing off.
So, to you my ultralight Sherlocks, I ask, who…or what took our stuff?
Here are some other clues:
Possible suspects: hard to determine. We only passed two couples and a nice retired lady. We saw no one else on the two mile hike in to the site, and no one while we were there. In the limited time-frame when the crime was committed, my kids were in their tent—50 paces away—while my wife and I were hanging out down on the rocks by the creek. Bear or human—this was one surreptitious creature.
Suppose it was a bear. We saw no signs of bear droppings or missing tree-bark etc. It is a popular trail with a fair number of people moving in and out through the day. Could the bear smell the food (in spite of it being in an Opsack) and get it down inside of a half hour–with people nearby? How would a bear unclip a carabiner? Wouldn’t a sissy knot like a slippery half-hitch be at least a bit tightened? This knot was just as I had left it.
Suppose it was a human. What kind of person would scope out a theft well enough to know when mom and dad are off by the creek but not care about taking food from three children in the wilderness? I’ve always assumed that backpackers are respectful of one another. Just the week before when hiking through Investor Ridge and Big Grassy Top I saw numerous tents left wide open with gear inside. People around here just don’t do stuff like that to each other. And besides, even hikers who aren’t worrying about their weight would be loathe to burden themselves with 30 liters of extra gear and food. On the other hand, if they knew how good my wife’s chia seed/coconut oatmeal is, perhaps we have all the motive we need!
If it was a person, does that mean I need to worry about people more than I worry about black bears? Is it safe to take my kids into places where a person would steal their food?
So what do you think? Am I just an idiot for hanging my food at punching bag height for a bear? Or is some Eric Rudolph character camped out on top of Little Sam Knob thanking his lucky stars that he marked a rube like me fortunate enough to marry a backcountry chef?
I welcome your advice, insight, and especially your forensic genius.
